4.  The applicant was born in 1951 and lives in Nové Zámky.
5.  On 18 August 1995 the applicant and her husband entered into a contract for the purchase of a family house and a plot of land from Mr and Mrs D.
6.  Mr D., who was registered as permanently resident (trvalý pobyt) at the house’s address, undertook in the contract to secure his deregistration by 21 August 1995.
7.  The applicant and her husband then became the owners of the property and moved into the house. However, Mr D. failed to deregister himself from the relevant register, which was kept by the municipal office (Obecný úrad) of Nové Zámky.
8.  In a letter of 2 March 2001 in reply to the applicant’s enquiry, the Nové Zámky district prosecutor (Okresný prokurátor) informed her that registration of permanent places of residence was governed by the Registration of Citizens’ Place of Residence Act (Law no. 135/1982, see “Relevant domestic law and practice” below) in conjunction with the Regulation on Enforcement of the Registration of Citizens’ Place of Residence Act (Regulation no. 146/1982). Individuals were obliged to report the taking-up of a new permanent place of residence to the municipal office of the municipality in which that residence was located within three days. Registration of a new permanent place of residence entailed an automatic cancellation of the registration at the previous one. A registration of a permanent place of residence could only be cancelled without registering a new one if the person concerned had lawfully emigrated from Slovakia or if it was discovered that the registration had been based on invalid or forged documents. As Mr D. had not applied for registration of a new permanent place of residence, the Nové Zámky municipal office had no legal authority under the existing legislation to cancel his previous registration at the applicant’s home address.
9.  On 22 March 2001 the applicant and Mr D. made a joint written declaration to the effect that Mr D. was not resident at the house in question, that he had no right of use in respect of it and that he was not contributing to the costs of its use. Mr D. further declared that he had applied to be deregistered as permanently resident at the house, that his application had been dismissed and that he was homeless and staying in different locations.
10.  In a letter of 24 May 2001, in reply to her enquiry, the head office of the Police Corps informed the applicant that section 5(1) of a new Registration of Citizens’ Place of Residence Act (Law no. 253/1998 – see “Relevant domestic law and practice” below), which was to come into force on 1 January 2002, could offer a solution to her problem. This legal provision enabled a person to be registered as a permanent resident in a municipality where he or she was born or was habitually resident (kde sa zdržuje), without actually having any specific address there. The letter further stated that the registration of a permanent place of residence at a certain address did not confer a legal right to live there and was merely evidentiary in nature.
11.  On an unspecified date the applicant applied for a social contribution towards her dwelling costs (príspevok na bývanie). The number of persons registered as permanently resident at a dwelling was a relevant factor in considering eligibility for such contributions and in calculating the amount to be paid. On 25 April 2001 the Nové Zámky municipal office issued a certificate to the effect that three persons were registered as permanently resident at the applicant’s address, namely the applicant, her husband and Mr D. The municipal office issued a similar certificate on 5 April 2004. Once the applicant had explained the situation to the municipal office employees, the problem was resolved.
12.  In a letter of 15 October 2001, in response to the applicant’s enquiry, the Nové Zámky municipal office informed her that, in the circumstances, it would not be possible to cancel Mr D.’s registration as permanently resident at her house, even when the 1998 Registration of Citizens’ Place of Residence Act came into force.
13.  By a payment order of 22 January 2002, the Nové Zámky municipality charged the applicant’s husband a fee for the removal of household waste from their house. The amount of such fees depended on the number of persons registered as permanently or temporarily resident at a given dwelling. In the applicant’s case the fee was calculated on the basis of three persons being registered at her address. Once the applicant had explained the situation to the municipality employees, the problem was resolved.
14.  The applicant submitted that official mail and other documents, including, in April 2005, a letter from the Nové Zámky municipal office, were being sent to Mr D. at her address, and that the police had come to her house searching for Mr D. on suspicion of having failed to make child maintenance payments.
15.  The applicant further submitted that her marriage had been dissolved and that, in order to settle their property affairs, she and her former husband had put the house on the market. A prospective buyer withdrew his offer on learning that a third person was registered as permanently resident at the house and that there was no way of having that registration cancelled. The applicant continues to live in the house with her former husband.